Okay, I haven't posted since last Thursday because I haven't had a second to breathe since then but I'm not going to go into crazy detail here because, let's face it... you'd be here forever and worse yet, I'D be sitting here trying to find a clever way to to describe the minutia until tomorrow morning.

So, I think we'll settle for 2 highlights reels, one music and one alpha-beta centric... does that make everyone happy? good.

Thursday night I went down to the Bowery with Ali (aka, mini-me) to see a boy that she likes in a band oh Ali, have I taught you nothing!!? Boys in bands are nothing but trouble She started the evening with a modicum of control but once she saw him play, it was all over. [sidebar: If you think you might like a musician, don't go see him play, it'll sink you every time. Well, I suppose it only works if they actually are talented... but still, you see this talent, this passion they have for their music and you immediately start to thinking... he could be this passionate about me too which of course leads right into oh my god, he could write a SONG about me Now let me say this... he may very well immortalize you in song, but if he's that passionate about the music... well, 9 out of 10 times it's going to mean that the music will always be his first love and will always come first, um, NOT you.]For that matter, the moment I saw him play it was all over for me too... Now, keep in mind this was not the scene I've been traveling in at ALL. The Bowery was mostly Frat-ish and yuppy types, all of the bands on the bill were much much more mainstream than what I generally listen to... basically, I was there for Ali, and not really expecting much from the band. Only now? I can't get enough. They are Jim Dandy and they are my new guilty pleasure... so poppy, so cheerful, so clever, so much like half of what I listened to in college... Picture some kind of BNL (only less kitchy & non-canadian) - Blues Traveler - Deep Blue Something sound. It's completely radio-friendly, with hooks that get stuck in my head for days. I haven't fallen for a band on first listen like this for a while. Their promoter set me up with a 7 song cd and it's the only thing that has managed to bump Interpol out of my CD player over the last week. So yeah, they're smart and catchy and adorable and I can't WAIT to see them again :)

Saturday night was the very exciting Mercury Lounge debut of The GoStation. I think I may have mentioned this while discussing The SOS or Surefire shows, but it never ceases to amaze me how fucking excellent the sound is at the Merc. The set was tight, the guys looked so stoked to be there, and it totally came out in the music. Moonlight, in particular was amazing... Matt just wailed through his solo, completely insane, and completely fantastic. And then, it was all about the encore... the crowd argued over what it should be before the guys finally settled on their phenomenal cover of New Order's True Faith which we hadn't seen from them since maybe Tiswas, if not the Boston Show... and jesus, what a crowd pleaser. Probably my favorite song of the night, they just NAILED it, and it was a perfect end to a pretty great show. Later on that night I was treated to an acoustic version of When I'm Gone a beautiful ballad that hasn't been performed live since long before I started attending their shows. I know that it would be a departure for them to play anything this pared down these days, that their sound has progressed and now tends to involve so many more layers... but I'd love to see them sneak it back in mid set for a tempo change because it's such a strong song, and I really think it's beauty is in it's simplicity.

Monday I finally picked up Hot Fuss, and yes I already knew I loved it, and yes, it's phenomenal to blast while buzzing around town in the beetle, only for some reason I didn't realize that Under the Gun wasn't going to be on it, which was disappointing, because how many times could you use a song that encourages you to scream "Kill Me Now" over and over again? If you're anything like me... well, let's just say I would have considered it a highlight. If any of my promo-having readers would like to share it with me all mp3 style, it would make me insanely happy...

I also picked up Faded Seaside Glamour from Delays. Now, I've been meaning to talk this band since way back in March when Glamorama was raving about them & I first listened to the Nearer Than Heaven single & promptly fell in love. Since then Laura & Sarah have both jumped on the band wagon & every time I read something about them i meant to post about them, but would then forget. Well, flash forward to nowish... a few weeks back I noticed that they were going to be playing at the Merc this summer, (next Thursday 7/15 at 9:30 PM) and got super stoked. So now I have the album & you know what? I'm SO happy I bought it. It's such a perfect Summer sound, so pretty, so relaxing, so delicious... they remind me a lot of the Sundays actually, but I digress... they're the perfect antidote for whatever ails you, just sit back, listen & feel the stress melt away....mmmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnn...

Last musical note (tee hee) go here and listen. It's supposedly only a rough cut, but come ON now people... this girl is a veritable genius & I'm going to start looking into corporate espionage if Sony doesn't get their act together & get EM released already.